here's the next installment of sheet from the steve garvey binders

here are sheets 8 and 9 of the first of two main steve garvey binders keep us in his los angeles years, but just barely.  here's sheet 8:

these cards are:

1. 1981 o-pee-chee
2. 1981 permagraphic
3. 1981 squirt
4. 1981 topps
5. 1981 topps scratch-off
6. 1982 donruss (diamond king)
7. 1982 donruss
8. 1982 drake's
9. 1982 fleer

here are the backs:

the 'oddballs' on this sheet - permagraphics, squirt, and drake's - all have some topps influence to them.  the photo on the permagraphics card is the same on garvey's 1981 topps (and o-pee-chee) cards; the 'dodgers' text on the squirt card is the same as the 'dodgers' text on 1978 topps cards with the back being a firm reproduction of 1981 topps; and the back of the drake's card is clearly the same design as 1982 topps.

one thing to note - i maintain that garvey was not included in the team photo that appears on the 1981 topps dodger checklist/tom lasorda card.  so, i don't have that card in the garvey binder.  if anyone can prove me wrong, i'd be happy to add it.

sheet 9 looks like this:

those cards are:

1. 1982 kmart
2. 1982 kellogg's
3. 1982 louisville slugger
4. 1982 o-pee-chee
5. 1982 o-pee-chee (in action)
6. 1982 permagraphic
7. 1982 topps
8. 1982 topps (in action)
9. 1983 donruss

and here are the backs:

the louisville slugger card came attached to a baseball glove. it may be from 1981 (or 1980 even - garvey is wearing the 1980 all-star game patch in the photo as he is in the o-pee-chee and topps cards), but i put it here in 1982 since beckett lists these things as '1982-89 louisville slugger' tags.  there's one of the garv in padres gear, too, which we'll see in a future post..  i know i am missing the 1982 permagraphic gold card that would go on this page, bumping 1983 donruss to the next.  maybe someday.

when your postman brings a package from jaybarkerfan's junk

yes, the joy that sandy koufax is displaying on his 2013 topps update postseason heroes card is pretty much how i want to react if i were to be home when the postman drops off a package from wes at jaybarkerfan's junk.  as it is, i am left to feel the excitement when i open the mailbox after a day at work and there is nobody around to exclaim my happiness to.

the result is a trade post that doesn't really do the cards, or thoughtfulness of wes, justice.  here are some of the other goodies i received.

2013 topps heritage then and now koufax and clayton kershaw

koufax led the league in era for five straight seasons, while kershaw has a streak of four era titles in a row.  other than that, he's matched sandy in cy youngs (3 in four years) and mvp awards.  now he just needs those four world series titles...

another kershaw - 2012 topps chrome orange parallel

and a 2009 upper deck spectrum card of another all-time pitching great who once (twice) toiled for the dodgers, greg maddux

maddux won 4 cy young awards, by the way.

here's a 1982 donruss bob welch card

welch was the dodgers' number 1 pick in 1977, and he has the highest career war of any of the dodgers' first round picks in history.  his 44.2 war is higher than rick rhoden (35.9), rick sutcliffe (34.3), paul konerko (28.1), and mike scioscia (26.0), who are third through sixth on the list.  in 2015, welch will be passed by kershaw, whose war through 2014 is 41.1.

how cool are pitcher's bat cards?  pretty cool.  this is a 2005 donruss champions tommy john bat relic card

that wes included in the package.

it wasn't all pitchers, though.  here's a 2013 topps heritage matt kemp new age performers insert

he'll be doing his new age performing for the padres, unfortunately.

i had not seen a 2006 upper deck special f/x card in person before receiving this jayson werth card from wes

what is most shocking about the card is that you can see jayson's cheeks, which haven't seen the light of day since he left the dodgers for the east coast.

last but not least is this 1994 topps archives 1954 card that should have been prospects card of roberto clemente

there's a nearly identical card in the 1995 topps brooklyn dodger archives set, so you have to look closely at the back to figure out which set these cards come from.  how cool would it have been for jackie robinson and roberto clemente (who was taken by the pirates in the 1954 rule v draft) to have been teammates?  at least as cool as this trade package, but not much more.  and, as cool as this trade package was, i received another one with a fantastic piece from wes not more than a week or so later.  i'll get a trade post for that one up in the near future.

thanks wes!

graded garveys from the oddball binder

i've got a few four-pocket pages in my steve garvey oddball binder that hold graded cards.  i did, for a very short time in the early 2000's, buy into the idea of graded cards.  i sent a few off to be graded, including some modern cards, before i thought better of it.  i also bought a few graded steve garvey cards during that short stretch.

the first sheet has a garvey 1971 topps rookie, his fantastic 1974 topps card, a 1975 topps mini, and a 1978 topps, which is a masterpiece

i wanted a rookie graded, and got one with a qualifier.  that right there made me realize that this is not something on the up and up.  it's an 8, but it has issues.  then it's not really an 8.  bccg grading is a quicker/cheaper grade which again makes little sense.  the '75 came in a lot - i didn't seek that one out like i did the others there.

the second page has a gem mt 10 1978 topps card, plus a 1980 topps and two 1981 topps cards

the 1978 card in gem mt 10 was a requisite for this garvey collector.

next up are a couple of cards from 1982 donruss, plus a 1983 topps and a gem mt 10 1987 fleer glossy

garvey's last topps card as a dodger provided a bookend to the 1971 rookie.  the fleer glossy was a cheap gem mt 10 grab.

the last page features a 1988 score glossy gem mt 10, and two cards i sent off myself - a 2001 fleer greats of the game card, and a 2002 topps tribute card

like the rookie, the 1974 and 1978 topps, and the 1983 topps cards, having a graded 1988 score card (in this case glossy version) was necessary.  i obviously knew i wasn't going to have a complete run of garvey base cards graded so i wanted to hit the main points.  sending those two modern cards to be graded was a mistake and unnecessary.

still, if anybody has a graded garvey card they don't want/need, i have an open spot in my binder!

dodgers for indians

the dodgers have made a few trades with the indians that i can recall off the top of my head.  they acquired pedro guerrero from cleveland, sent rick sutcliffe and jack perconte to the tribe for jorge orta, traded franklin gutierrez for milton bradley, and shipped carlos santana off for casey blake.  well, several months ago, i made my first trade with indian fan baseball dad.  it's taken me a long time to get to this trade post, but i finally made it.

the most unusual card in the return package was this 1993 topps commanders of the hill tom candiotti card

the candy man pitched for the indians (twice), but signed with the dodgers as a free agent after a short stint in toronto.  according to baseballcardpedia, these cards were available on military bases and were sold with the purchase of a fountain drink.  that explains the coca-cola logo on the back.  very cool - i had not seen these before.

i had seen these before - 1982 donruss burt hooton

and 1983 donruss terry forster

but it is always nice to get cards featuring two pitchers from the team of my youth!

1995 fleer rudy seanez

not quite 6 years of blogging, and i had not shown a 1995 fleer card until just now.  not sure if that is good or bad.

1999 topps stars adrian beltre - one star

and two stars

good thing topps stopped at four stars, otherwise you'd be in beltre's nose

2002 upper deck prospect premieres james loney

the dodgers' first round pick in 2002 still hasn't turned those doubles into home runs (11 doubles/1 home run so far in 2014), but he hit a huge home run for the dodgers in the 2008 nlds.

2005 leaf steve finley

finley also hit a memorable grand slam for the dodgers - his walk-off job won the nl west title for the dodgers in 2004

2009 upper deck x manny ramirez x5 insert

2008 seems like so long ago, but manny absolutely destroyed the competition after joining the dodgers.

2014 topps hanley ramirez target red parallel

believe it or not, this was the first 2014 topps card i owned.  that's how long it's been since this trade.  thanks baseball dad!

elston howard's tribute

i haven't made any progress on my 2001 topps tribute set in quite some time.  i did find an elston howard card from the set at one of the twin cities' lcs last year.  it set me back $3, which is why i haven't made much progress on the set.  here's my want list, in case anyone can help.  and here is howard's card in case you wanted to see it.

a promising catcher, howard began his big league career as an outfielder who dabbled in catching, but later transitioned to become the yankees' primary backstop towards the end of, and following, yogi berra's yankee career.  he was a part of 9 yankee world series teams, plus one as a member of the 1967 red sox.  he was also the 1963 american league mvp.  howard returned to the yankees after his playing career ended to become a coach, and when he died at the age of 51 in december of 1980, the yankees decided to wear black armbands as they had done the previous season (for thurman munson).

here's a 1982 fleer tommy john card showing the armband 

gotta love the blurriness of 1982 fleer.  here's john again, along with ron guidry, on a 1982 donruss card which also shows the armband

that's the card in the memorials binder.  it fits better than john's fleer card - it's in focus, it features yankee pinstripes, and elston howard was definitely a yankee winner.

for whom the armband tolls - a new (and perhaps morbid) type collection

according to the national baseball hall of fame, the practice of wearing a black armband in honor of a deceased teammate dates back to 1876 when the saint louis brown stockings mourned tom miller who passed away early in the season.  since then, the practice has expanded to managers, owners, announcers, spouses, equipment managers, and club executives, along with tragic events such as the newtown and virginia tech shootings and the boston marathon bombings.  and that's not even close to a complete list.

the most famous franchise in honoring their fallen is the new york yankees.  they have worn black armbands (or numbered/initial patches or both) many times.  here is a 1982 donruss card featuring tommy john and ron guidry, where the black armband is visible on the left arm of louisiana lightinin'.

the yankees wore the black armband in 1981 in honor of elston howard, who passed away in december of 1980 from heart failure.  howard succeeded yogi berra behind the plate for the yankees, and was their catcher in 9 world series (they won 4 of them) during the 1950's and 60's.  he was the al mvp in 1963, and served as a coach for the bronx bombers until the time of his death.

the dodgers have also recognized many of their players who have passed away.  most recently they wore a '4' patch for duke snider during the 2011 season.  here's a 2011 topps update clayton kershaw card that shows the patch

he's wearing the patch on his chest because it was displaced by the all-star game patch during the midsummer classic.

in 1993, the dodgers recognized three different players.  they started the season with a '52' patch in honor of tim crews, the former dodger pitcher who died during spring training with the indians.  brett butler's 1994 upper deck collector's choice card shows that patch nicely, front

 and back

then, during the season, both roy campanella and don drysdale passed away about a week apart.  as a result, the dodgers wore a '39 roy/53 don' patch on their right sleeves.  you can see that patch and the crews patch on raul mondesi's 1994 upper deck collector's choice card

in july of 1957, dodger coach don mcmahon died after suffering a heart attack while throwing batting practice.  the dodgers wore a 'mac' patch for the remainder of the season, as seen on fernando valenzuela's 1988 fleer baseball's exciting stars card

the card is complete with a nice dodger stadium background.

one of the things i like best about baseball is the celebration of its history.  seeing the pennants flying and retired numbers hanging at stadiums across the country is one of my favorite things to check out when i visit various stadiums.  i also appreciate it when teams recognize players from their past, including posthumously via the patch or armband.  if you'll recall, i count this card among my favorite non-dodger cards.

so, i have decided to collect cards that show these memorials.  i will collect just one of each instance (other than dodgers, of course), and i am working on a list over at my want list site that will outline the occasions of which i still need examples of in cardboard form, as well as the cards i have that feature the patches.  if you have one that shows a memorial that i don't have, or if you think yours is better than the card that i do have, let's trade.  you will be rewarded.

because, dangit, charlie moore wants us to remember the brewers' equipment manager robert sullivan

who passed away prior to the 1986 season.

so, there's another angle for my collection, and another recurring topic for the blog.  long live the memorials!

get your head in the game

here's the penultimate 1979 post raisin bran steve garvey's baseball tips card as we head into spring training.  this week, the garv extolls the virtues of mental preparation

what are the chances that franklin stubbs is going through the same mental checklist that garvey mentions as he awaits the outcome of the pitch on his 1986 donruss card?

or, maybe he's just thinking 'please don't hit a ground ball to sax'.

jim hughes is clearly not concerned with any game action

probably because there was no game action on 1953 topps cards

meanwhile, jose vizcaino 

has picked up the 'pull up your pants' sign from the third base coach on his 1998 upper deck card.  if only he were more focused on the game at hand, perhaps his pants wouldn't have needed a boost.

jerry reuss, shown here on his 1982 donruss card,

can't help but smile as he plans his next hot foot treatment instead of thinking about the next batter's tendencies against left-handed pranksters with a dutch boy haircut.

it's easy to let your mind wander while sitting on the bench, especially in spring training, as bill russell

demonstrates on his 1982 donruss card.  perhaps he is trying to think of something fun to do in vero beach later that evening, or maybe he is practicing giving the official scorer the evil eye.

i suppose the manager can at least try to play some role in helping the players maintain their focus during the game, although on his 1972 topps card, it appears that walter alston

has emerged from the dugout to see which way the wind is blowing as he has a golf game to get to as soon as the baseball game is over.

only one more tip to go, and pitchers and catchers report this week!

showing a little attitude and some appreciation at the same time

bill russell got a lot of grief during his playing days for his fielding.  and today, he doesn't get much respect from the card companies.  but, keep in mind that he was an outfielder that was converted to a shortstop (that hasn't been done very often), and with him at the 6, the dodgers won 4 pennants and a world championship.  even i, a diehard fan of the infield, don't give russell his full due.  that's one reason why i like his 1983 fleer card so much.

whether russell is looking into the visitor's dugout at his teammates or into a home dugout full of opponents, the slinging of his bat and the look on his face seem to suggest that he has just laced a go-ahead base hit.  it's obviously not a walk-off because he's wearing his away grays, but i like to think that in the top of the 9th somewhere, the opposing team walked the number 7 hitter to get to russell, and he cleared the bases to make them pay.  kind of like what happened on june 5, 1982 in saint louis when the cardinals walked mike scioscia ahead of russell to load the bases.  russell doubled to break the game open, and who knows - maybe he looked into the dugout and said 'yippee ki yay, mr. herzog'.

as you can imagine, i have quite a few cards of russell that he has signed for me through the mail, almost all of which came from his active playing days.  i have a 1971 topps

a 1973 topps

a 1976 topps

a 1977 topps

a 1979 topps

a 1980 topps

a 1981 donruss

a 1981 fleer (hello, dodger stadium!)

a 1981 topps

a 1982 donruss

a 1982 fleer

a 1986 fleer (hello again, dodger stadium)

a 1986 topps

and a 1987 fleer

i have a couple of other, post-playing days cards that russell has signed, too, but not a 1983 fleer.

i'm glad that russell took the time to sign my cards over the past three years.  i'm also glad that the dodgers didn't trade for ozzie smith back in the early 1980's as had been rumored, and that russell was able to finish his playing career as a dodger - the only member of the infield to do so.  it's too bad that the last uniform he ever wore, however, was a tampa bay devil ray one.

thanks for signing my cards ropes!